Repost: Silent Killer
by ClydeandRani4ever
Summary: One of the kids comes down with a illness that has the potential to be life threatening. Repost of a story I wrote last year. I've been role playing so haven't had time to write a new story.
1. Chapter 1

The Sarah Jane Adventures: Silent Killer

Time Frame: Fifth Season

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from the following story. The Sarah Jane Adventures is owned by the BBC.

* * *

One day after they had stopped aliens from taking over the world Sarah Jane and the children were in her attic. Clyde was drawing, Sky and Rani were catching up on homework, and Sarah Jane was making sure that the aliens had truly left the Earth never to return.

"Hey, Rani, do you have an extra pen?" Sky asked and waited for her older friend to answer which she never did. "Rani?"

Rani continued to study having not appeared to hear her.

"Earth to Rani," Sky teased. "Rani!" she then called out as loud as she could.

Rani finally looked up from her book. "Yeah?"

"Do you have an extra pen?" Sky spoke at a normal volume.

"What?" Rani inquired.

Clyde chuckled. "Rani, stop giving Sparky a hard time?"

Rani didn't reply to him which caused Sarah Jane concern. _Since when does she let him get away with something like that?_ She thought it about it further and also remembered that Rani had also been losing her balance lately sometimes when she walked around.

"Do you have an extra pen?" Sky raised her voice.

Rani nodded and handed her one.

The children's backs were turned to her. Thus, Sarah Jane decided to drop a non fragile cup on the floor knowing that it would be loud but wouldn't break. Sky and Clyde jumped a little; Rani seemed unaffected as she had returned to studying.

Sarah Jane and Clyde exchanged a worried look.

Clyde rose to his feet and then walked over and sat next to Rani. Sarah Jane did the same.

"Rani, are you all right?" Clyde asked.

Rani gave him a confused look. "Can you speak up a little? My ears are still clogged from last week's cold."

"Mr. Smith, I need you," Sarah Jane bellowed and waited for her alien supercomputer to activate.

The Xylok activated in his normal fanfare. "How can I be of assistance, Sarah Jane?"

"Mum, what's wrong?" Sky asked. "Rani's ears will clear up soon."

"Seeing that they should already be clear by now I want confirmation of that," Sarah Jane worried. "Mr. Smith, I need you to run a full medical scan on Rani."

"What did you say?" Rani asked Sarah Jane.

Sarah Jane wrote it down so Rani wouldn't have to struggle to hear her.

"Sarah Jane, don't worry I'm okay. It's really only my left ear that's still clogged," Rani told her.

_I want to make certain._ Sarah Jane wrote down next and showed it to Rani.

Rani sighed and smiled. "Okay, Mr. Smith, scan away."

Mr. Smith performed the scan and when he was finished he asked Rani. "Rani, has your left ear been hurting at all?" he asked very loudly.

"Yeah, but I'm sure that's part of the after effects of my ears being infected last week. Why do you ask?" Rani inquired.

"Rani, I don't know how to tell you this," Mr. Smith began.

"Then don't tell her. Tell us and we'll tell her," Clyde ordered.

"Clyde, it's okay," Rani said trying to be brave. "Go ahead, Mr. Smith."

"There's a growth behind your left ear right where the nerves connect to your brain," Mr. Smith revealed.

"What do you mean a growth?" Rani demanded. "Do I need to get excess wax cleaned out of that ear or something?"

"Unfortunately it's not that simple, the growth is a tumor," the Xylok answered. "It's benign but if left untreated it can grow large enough to press against your brain and become life threatening. I strongly suggest that you have an MRI and/or a CAT scan done."

_No, no, no, no, _Sarah Jane kept the thought to herself as she tried to keep herself from panicking.

"Yeah, well just because you're a super alien computer it doesn't mean that you know everything!" Rani shouted. "I probably just need more antibiotics."

"Ssh," Sarah Jane wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. "Everything will be all right."

Rani hugged her back. "But what if it becomes malignant? Or what if it's part of something more dangerous in my body right now?"

"Rani, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Everything will be all right," Sarah Jane insisted.

They took her to Park Vale Hospital to have the MRI done. Sarah Jane also called Rani's parents and waited for them to show up.

"My mate needs an MRI," Clyde blurted out at the nurses desk.

"And are you a doctor?" the nurse challenged.

Sky shook her head at Clyde. "No he's not but she needs a doctor," she then proceeded to voice Rani's symptoms.

The nurse checked both of Rani's ears. "They don't appear to be infected. Does your left ear hurt, love?" When Rani didn't reply she asked her question louder.

"Yes and it's clogged. I can barely hear anything right now," Rani replied.

"Are her parents here yet?" the nurse asked Sarah Jane.

"No, but they'll be here any minute. They don't have to be here for a doctor to start checking her over do they?" Sarah Jane worried.

"Of course not, but it'll be at least fifteen minutes until a doctor can see her anyway." The nurse then processed Rani's information.

* * *

"We'll have the results of the MRI in a couple of days," Rani's doctor told her and her parents.

Haresh sighed. "Will you please put a rush on that?"

"I'll do what I can," the doctor assured him. "But relax even if this is an Acoustic Neuroma," he began about the possible brain tumor type that might have inflicted Rani. "More times than not they are benign and it's very rare for them to become malignant or return as malignant. Also, it's not going to become large enough in the next couple days to become life threatening."

"Do I at least get to miss school the next couple of days?" Rani tried.

"You'll be fine at school," her doctor answered.

"Well we're keeping her home anyway," Gita replied.

"You don't need to write a note I'm the head master at her school," Haresh said. "Now, Dr. Williams, if you were still in school would you be able to concentrate knowing that you possibly had a brain tumor?"

_But it is a brain tumor, just get cutting already and get this thing out of me,_ Rani fretted silently to herself.

"No I wouldn't be able to concentrate," he then wrote a note excusing Rani from school. "Just because you're head master doesn't mean the school board won't question your motives if you don't have this."

"True," Haresh conceded and then they took Rani home after Dr. Williams had given and inserted a hearing aid for Rani's left ear so she wouldn't have to struggle to hear people any longer.

Two days later the results came in and Doctor Williams had called Haresh and Gita in first.

"The tumor is an Acoustic Neuroma as I suspected however it's grown too large for Gamma Knife treatment so I'll have to operate to remove it with Microsurgery and we need to schedule the surgery as quickly as possible." He then continued. "If we wait within one month it will be large enough to press against her brain which can lead to life threatening complications."

"How long will she need to be in the hospital?" Gita asked. "More importantly how risky is the surgery?"

"Normally she'll need to be here three to five days but we can always extend that it all depends on her recovery. All patients recover at their own rate, and we'll need to keep her in ICU for at least the first night after surgery to monitor her."

"ICU?" Gita fretted.

"It's just a precaution," he assured Gita and Haresh.

"How risky is the surgery?" Haresh restated one of his wife's questions.

"With any kind of surgery there are risks involved especially when it comes to the brain," he replied before he went over all of the risks with them.

"So in short the cure can wind up being worse than the tumor, and if you don't operate we can lose her anyway even with it being benign if it grows large enough to press against her brain," Gita said near tears.

Dr. Williams sighed and nodded.

"Oh my God," Gita's tears began to fall.

Haresh hugged her and gently said to her. "Get it all out, love, get it all out." His own tears fell and he wanted to make sure that Gita and he were all cried out before they told Rani so they could be strong for her.

Two hours later Rani walked into Sarah Jane's attic and sat down next to her on the sofa.

"So, what did Dr. Williams say?" Sarah Jane asked.

"You know that Gamma Knife treatment that he and Luke were so excited about because there are barely any complications from it?" Rani began.

Sarah Jane nodded.

"I get to have the microsurgery instead since the tumor is too big for the simple procedure. My parents are checking me into Park Vale hospital Thursday night and the surgery is scheduled for Friday morning at 9AM," Rani told her. "Sarah Jane, I'm scared, what if something goes wrong?"

"Oh, Rani, nothing is going go wrong. You're going to be just fine," Sarah Jane assured her and hugged her.

Rani hugged her back and cried in her arms.

Sarah Jane hugged her closer and did everything she could to calm and comfort her. She also stayed calm and covered up the fact that she was frightened out of her mind.

Sky and Clyde walked in home from school while Sarah Jane was still calming her down.

"Rani, what's wrong?" Sky asked as she sat down on the other side of her and hugged her.

"They have to do the microsurgery," Sarah Jane told Sky and Clyde.

_What? No,_ Clyde kept the frantic thought to himself. "When will you be admitted and when is the surgery?"

Rani told him as she dried some tears from her eyes.

"I'll be there then," Clyde promised.

"You have school Friday morning," Rani reminded him.

"I don't care; you're more important," Clyde insisted.

"Clyde's right," Sky said and locked eyes with her mum.

Sarah Jane sighed and then said. "You two are not missing school Friday. You can come to the hospital after school is over with. I'll call you the minute she gets out of surgery."

"I won't be able to concentrate at school," Clyde argued. "I'll be too worried about our girl here."

"So will I, mum," Sky pouted.

"Clyde, I can't speak for your mum, so she'll obviously have to okay it. Sky, you can stay home from school Friday," Sarah Jane assured her daughter and then focused on Rani. "Are you going to be okay?"

Rani nodded. "I'm still a little scared, but yeah."

"I know," Sarah Jane gently said. "And that's normal, but everything will really be all right."

"Got that straight," Clyde also assured Rani. "We're not going to let anything happen to you."

Not long after a group hug occurred.

* * *

"Mum, she's going to be all right. We're not going to lose Rani," Luke tried to ease Sarah Jane's fears as they spoke in video chat.

"I know and hey it could be a lot worse. It could have been a malignant tumor," she sighed before continuing. "But, Luke, it's still dangerous with or without surgery."

"I know it is but Rani will be okay she's young and strong, and I'll be home by Thursday night," Luke assured her.

"What about your exams?" Sarah Jane worried.

"I'll take them early and if my professors don't let me then I'll take them after break," he answered.

"As long as it will be all right, Luke, Rani will understand if you can't get here till Saturday."

"My heart won't understand," Luke admitted. "She's one of my best mates, and she would be there for me."

Sarah Jane smiled. "Understood," she replied.

"Are you going to be okay?" Luke asked her.

"Of course I will be," Sarah Jane tried to front.

Luke sighed. "I'll be a video call, phone call, text message, and email away if you need to talk again before Thursday."

"I'll be here if you need to do the same, I love you." Sarah Jane said.

"I love you too," Luke said before they both signed off.

* * *

"I'm sure going to miss a lot of school," Rani pointed out.

"You won't get too far behind and I'll make sure that your teachers work with you when you do return to school," Haresh assured her. "Your health comes first above everything else. Please always remember that."

"I will, Dad, that one time you caught me smoking was the first and last time. Those things were nasty," she said about trying cigarettes with one of her mates back in Danemouth. A look of guilt then came across her face. "You don't think that's what caused this?"

"Oh, honey, no. It could've been caused by anything but definitely not that." He puts his left arm around her. "One lone cigarette wouldn't cause a tumor. This is not your fault."

"Then whose fault is it?" Rani pondered.

"Nobody's," Gita said as she joined them and sat down on the other side of her. "Sometimes things like this just happen and it's not anyone's fault."

"Your mum is right," Haresh said. "What's most important right now is getting you better again, and not rushing your recovery."

"What makes you think I'll try to rush my recovery?" Rani wondered.

"Because you are our daughter," Gita pointed out. "Trying to get out of bed too soon after being sick or hurt is in your blood."

Rani laughed but then went serious again. "I'm sorry for putting you both through this," she said about the tumor, the surgery, and the dangers involved.

"Come here," Gita reached out for her and hugged her. Rani hugged her back. "You're not putting us through this. Like I said sometimes things like this just happen no matter how much we don't want them to. Right now I'm just so relieved that it's not malignant and that it can be removed before it becomes deadly."

"As am I, love," Haresh piped in. "I know you'll have a long recovery but you're going to be all right." He hugged his daughter and she hugged him back.

* * *

_-to be continued_


	2. Chapter 2

Second Disclaimer: For Mention of Doctor Who and Torchwood only. No copyright infringement is intended and I make no profit from the following story. The Sarah Jane Adventures, Doctor Who, and Torchwood are owned by the BBC.

* * *

Luke had been able to take his exams early so he had been able to come home by Thursday morning. Clyde and Sky had already left for school, so after greeting his mum he went over to the Chandra home to see Rani.

Gita answered the door and hugged him after letting him in the house.

He hugged her back. "How's Rani?"

"She's not doing very well this morning with the pain and dizziness. You can see her but don't let her sit up for too long," Gita ordered.

Luke nodded, walked further into the house, and found his mate lying on the sofa and watching the telly. He knelt down next to her and hugged her. She hugged him back.

"You're home earlier than expected. How are you, Luke?" Rani asked.

"I've been better. How are you?" he then sat on the coffee table since he didn't want Rani to have to move from her position on the couch.

"Anxious to have this thing removed. I don't like how it's making me feel. I should be at school and living my life. I shouldn't be lying on the couch too weak to even get off of the couch," Rani groused.

"It'll be removed soon," Luke assured her. "And think of it as getting some rest. Let us take care of you, and get some sleep. Your doctor did prescribe medication for your symptoms right so you'll be able to sleep?"

"Yeah he did, my mum had me take some of it a bit ago but it hasn't taken hold yet," Rani told him.

"Do you want me to stay with you until it does?" Luke offered.

Rani nodded, so Luke stayed with her until the medication had taken hold and she had drifted off to sleep.

He kissed her, covered her up some more, and then found Gita in the kitchen.

"She's sleeping," Luke said. "Do you need anything? I can help you take care of Rani today."

"Thank you, Luke," Gita smiled and poured them each a cup of tea.

They spent most of the morning talking and tending to Rani. Sarah Jane joined them after she had finished working on an article and helped Gita get some of Rani's things ready for the hospital.

"She's going to be okay you know," Sarah Jane said after a short but awkward silence.

"I know, but it doesn't stop me from worrying especially when anything can go wrong with surgery or after surgery," Gita fretted. "I just wish that I could protect her from this or at least trade places with her."

"I've been wishing I could do the same," Sarah Jane confessed, "especially since she still seems scared."

Gita sighed. "Trust me she is scared. Haresh and I have both tried talking to her and we've tried to ease her fears. She acts like we've gotten through to her, but she's not fooling me."

They talked a bit longer and tried to figure out a way to help Rani get over her fears of the surgery and her fears of post surgery. They were still trying to figure out what to do by the time that Clyde and Sky came over during home time. Both of them hugged Luke, and Luke hugged them back.

"It's good to have you home, mate," Clyde said.

"It's good to be home although I wish it were under better circumstances," Luke whispered.

"You and I both, how's she doing?" Clyde asked.

"She was in a lot of pain this morning and was feeling all around yucky but she's doing better now," Luke filled him in.

Clyde walked further into the house and sat with Rani on the sofa. "Do you want to get out of here for a bit? You still have four or five hours before hospital check-in."

Rani nodded and looked over at her Dad. "I feel well enough right now to leave the house."

Haresh thought it over and tossed Clyde his car keys. Clyde caught them. "I want you driving instead of walking in case she starts feeling bad again. You're a careful driver I trust."

"With her in the car absolutely," Clyde assured him.

"Good, you take care of her," Haresh ordered.

"I will, sir," Clyde promised before he left with Rani.

He drove her to her favorite restaurant in the city. She smiled at him and then shook her head.

"What? You are hungry right?" Clyde inquired.

"I am, but how can you afford this place?" Rani pointed out.

"I'll worry about that," Clyde answered. "You just concentrate on having fun."

They went inside and Rani was stunned when she discovered that she and Clyde were the only customers and that all the lights were dimmed. She then had seen what she suspected was their table. There were two candles there that looked like they had just been lit. Also, for the flower piece her favorite flower was there. _This looks suspiciously like a date. _She thought and then turned to Clyde. "This looks suspiciously like a date."

"Actually I just wanted to help get your mind off of the surgery and everything, but we can call it a date too," Clyde hoped and smiled at her.

She smiled back and kissed him. He kissed her back and would've kept kissing her if the waiter hadn't of cleared his throat to interrupt them.

Clyde and Rani stifled back laughs as they tried to hide their embarrassment of getting caught. Once they were seated the waiter took their drink orders and then left them alone again.

"Fess up, Clyde, how many banks did you rob to pull this off?" Rani quipped as she looked over her menu.

Clyde laughed. "The money is legal okay," he then sobered a little. "My dad gave it to me and told me I can do what I want with it."

"I appreciate all of this, but you should use it for a car or for Uni," Rani advised.

"There's enough left over for both." He looked at his menu. "So what are you in the mood for?"

She told him, he committed it to memory so when the waiter returned he ordered for both Rani and himself. Moments later, one of Rani's favorite songs began to play over the stereo system in the restaurant.

"May I have this dance, my ladyship?" Clyde asked.

"Certainly, my lord," Rani quipped.

He smiled and led her to the dance floor. They danced a few slow dances; close in each others arms before their food arrived. They spent the rest of the time talking, laughing, and eating. Rani and Clyde also danced some more before they had left the restaurant.

"Clyde, thank you for today," Rani said. "I haven't felt this relaxed since all of this happened with that bloody tumor."

"No problem at all," Clyde said. "I'd do anything for you."

"And I you, you mean a lot to me, Clyde," Rani confessed. "And…" She hesitated a little but finally bit the bullet. "I'm in love with you. I have been for quite a while now."

"That's good to know because I've been in love with you since the first day I laid eyes on you," Clyde confessed. "And I'm sorry it took me so long to admit it."

She smiled as tears of joy began to fall from her eyes.

Clyde reached over and kissed some of her tears away and not long after they shared their second kiss of the day.

A few hours later Rani's parents took her to the hospital for Check-In. Sarah Jane, Clyde, Luke, and Sky went along as well.

"It'll most likely be quite a while before I can fully help out with aliens," Rani whispered to Sarah Jane.

"Make that completely help out with aliens," Sarah Jane whispered back in her protective voice.

"You mean I can't even hang out in the attic and monitor everyone's progress from there?" Rani questioned.

"That's what you'll be doing the first week that you're fully recovered and no sooner," Sarah Jane insisted. "I'm not taking any chances."

"And if an alien from our past tries to or succeeds in abducting me I'll have to fight back anyway."

"Oh they won't dare try that if they don't want to face my wrath," Sarah Jane replied. "Besides, you'll be protected don't worry."

"Mum, what if aliens decide to invade while Rani's in surgery tomorrow?" Sky whispered.

"The Doctor, Torchwood, the Brigadier, Mickey Smith, and Martha Jones have that covered," Sarah Jane replied having contacted all of them with Mr. Smith's help. "I'm not even going to pretend that I would be able to concentrate on saving the Universe when I'll be too worried about Rani."

Sarah Jane and the rest of the kids visited with Rani a bit longer before they headed home leaving her alone with her parents.

"Sarah Jane is terrified and so are you two," Rani stated the cold hard truth. "The tumor and surgery they're both very dangerous. I know there's a chance that everything won't work out."

"Darling, yes the chance is there," Gita replied. "But we're not going to let anything happen to you."

"I know, but if something does happen please don't spend the rest of your lives grieving me and please always remember that I love you and will always love you," Rani said to her parents.

Gita was about to argue but hugged her daughter instead. "I love you, baby, more than you can ever imagine."

Haresh hugged Rani instead and told her that he loved her. _Please, God, don't let anything go wrong tomorrow. She's my little girl, _he silently prayed as tears welled in his eyes.

Several hours later the sun rose and a few hours after that Rani's surgery began while her friends, boyfriend, and parents waited anxiously in the waiting room. They had done everything they could to keep from panicking and to keep their minds occupied since they knew it would be a long surgery. Several hours later Dr. Williams walked into the waiting room and was met by six expectant faces.

"How's Rani?" Sky was the first to say something.

"The tumor has been removed but not without complications," he stated as gently as he could.

"What sort of complications?" Gita inquired as she tried to remain calm.

"I had to cut one of the nerves in order to fully remove the tumor and that will result in some permanent hearing loss but not complete hearing loss," he answered.

"That's a complication," Haresh replied. "You said there were complications."

"She's having trouble coming out of the anesthesia. She should've started to come around by now but she isn't," Dr. Williams replied.

"But she'll come out of it?" Gita began to panic. "A lot of patients have trouble coming out of anesthesia but they come out of it right?"

"We're doing everything we can to make sure that she does," he answered. "But…"

"No, don't start with that," Clyde angered. "Rani, will come out of it she's just having trouble that's all."

Dr. Williams sighed before he told them that there was a slight chance that Rani would never come around.

Luke wanted to punch him but restrained himself knowing that the doctor meant no harm he just had to tell them everything for professional and legal reasons.

"So what is being done to help bring her around?" Sarah Jane inquired as she wiped an escaping tear from her eye. "What can we do to help?"

Dr. Williams proceeded to tell them what the Anaesthetist and the rest of the medical team was doing to try and bring Rani around. "You can try talking to her. Hearing voices of loved ones can be very helpful to a patient, but only two at a time and only fifteen minutes each."

* * *

Rani's parents visited with her first and tried talking to her, Clyde and Luke visited with her next, and then Sarah Jane and Sky visited with her. While Rani's loved ones talked to her the Anaesthetist and the rest of the medical team still did everything they could to bring Rani around so she wouldn't slip into a coma or die.

Gita and Haresh's turn rolled around again. Gita gently hugged her daughter and kissed her. "Surgery is over, sweetheart, it's time to wake up now," Gita gently stroked her daughter's face. "Please, Rani,"

"Come on, love," Haresh encouraged and a smile began to form on his face when she started to come around.

"Cold," Rani managed as she woke up shivering.

One of the nurses covered Rani with another blanket. "There you go, love, how are you feeling?" the nurse inquired. "Is that better?"

"Terrible," Rani groaned in a barely audible tone. However, her shivering ceased.

"Terrible how?" Gita gently asked her.

"My head and ear hurt, and I feel like I'm going to throw up," Rani answered.

Her medication was adjusted to combat the pain and nausea. Once the medication began to take hold she drifted off to sleep again. She had spent the next twenty hours sleeping on and off, and after the twenty hours were over she woke in a regular hospital room. Her parents were sleeping on the sofa in her room, and Sarah Jane had fallen asleep in a chair by her bedside. Rani decided to let them sleep and motioned for her mates to be quiet when they walked into the room.

Sky hugged her. "How are you feeling?" she whispered.

"It still hurts a lot, but I'm more alert I think," Rani whispered back.

"Why are you two whispering?" Sarah Jane woke up and hugged Sky and Rani.

Rani hugged her back. "So we don't wake you and my parents."

"Yeah, mum," Sky said as she hugged Sarah Jane back.

"Oh we'll be fine," Sarah Jane said. "Rani, are you hungry?"

"Starving," Rani answered.

"For what?" Sky asked.

"Do I smell cinnamon rolls?" Rani answered with a question of her own.

"You do" Clyde smiled and kissed her. "We managed to sneak them past the nurse's desk."

"How many do you want?" Luke asked.

"Just one for now," Rani answered.

Clyde helped her eat it since she was having trouble moving around after the surgery. All four of them ate and talked a while before Sarah Jane and the kids had to leave.

A few hours later Gita and Haresh woke up and found the cinnamon rolls that were left for them.

"They're very good," Rani said to them. "Clyde, Luke, and Sky brought them by earlier."

Gita smiled. "Hey, you," she said and was hugging her daughter seconds later. "You're looking alert now and you also look like you feel a little better."

"It still hurts but I'm feeling better. Maybe I can go home tomorrow?" Rani hoped.

"I would love that," Gita said. "But that would be much too soon."

Haresh hugged Rani and kissed her. "And we're not letting anyone release you until it's safe to do so."

She hugged her parents back.

Five days later Rani was released from the hospital. She continued to wear a hearing aid due to the hearing loss caused by the tumor and the hearing loss caused the nerve that had to be cut during surgery. She had also continued to have balance and vertigo issues but with time and therapy both issues went away. She also had an MRI done each year after the surgery for the next five years, and thankfully no more tumors appeared.

* * *

_The End_


End file.
